A Birmingham counselling practice has decided to launch itself as a national franchise, as a result of growing demand due to Government legislation.

The counselling franchise – thought to be the first of its kind – will see the small practice become a national name, the practice’s owner hopes.

And the idea has proved so popular that applications have been flooding in from across the country.

My Time, in Small Heath, was founded by director Michael Lilley eight years ago.

It currently employs eight people full time, supplemented by volunteer work.

But now the firm is looking for entrepreneurial counsellors around the country who want to start their own My Time branch.

And the firm is in talks with an aspiring practice owner in Worcestershire to become the first My Time franchisee.

Mr Lilley said his firm would be the first counselling franchise in the country as far as he was aware.

He said: “We believe there’s some life coaching franchises, but as for actual medical counselling one this is the first of its kind and its responding to what’s happening in terms of the legislation.

“We are excited to be offering our unique business as a franchise package.

“Not only will franchisees benefit from our established systems and experience, they will tap into our contacts which have taken years to build. My Time franchisees, even if new to the industry, will have a distinct advantage over established independent counsellors.”

He said changes in the law meant that in the future the majority of people would need access counselling through GPs, employee worker schemes, or Government programmes such as Pathways to Work, providing an opportunity for independent counselling firms.

He said people currently working in the NHS were most likely to be taken on as franchisees, but the opportunity to work with he firm was open to anyone, with a series of counselling courses being put on by the firm.

William Lilley, the company’s business development manager and Michael Lilley’s son, said: “At the moment we are looking at looking for suitable people who are interested in establishing a pilot in Worcestershire and supporting them with contracts.

“We have had such an interest all over the UK someone in London and I was quite amazed at how broad the response has been.

“This is about maintaining and supporting our services, its something we have been wanting to develop for a while. It’s one of the best ways of growing a small business.”

“Increasingly, its difficult as independent practitioners to get public contracts or to be financially sustainable and to really survive as a practitioner you need to be quite strong and have a strong brand and identity and you need a support network and experience to do that.

“The ideal candidate is someone who has counselling training and has experience in dealing with vulnerable people, but it really has to be someone who’s patient and committed to do what we do.”

My Time works with a variety of vulnerable people, including the unemployed, family work and helping people cope with bereavement.

Franchising has become a more popular way of getting into business as the credit crunch makes potential entrepreneurs wary of going into the world of business on their own.

The British Franchise Association (BFA), the voluntary governing body for franchises, said it had heard success stories from members across the country, and that franchisers were often defying the credit crunch that has affected almost all sectors of the business world.

The economic contribution of franchise companies to UK PLC grew by 15 per cent over the last year, compared to a national growth rate of 3.1 per cent, according to a NatWest/BFA survey, it added.